hello, i'm back on the blog train! On the 29/09, Emi and I drove from Clare to Burra in the pouring rain and ended up sleeping at a showground for $15. it was a struggle to find, but Arty (the caretaker) was helpful and we hit the hay around 11 pm. fun fact: his blue heeler is also called Elle.
The town of Burra is endearing and fascinating. so much history and many stories to tell to anyone willing to listen. the original buildings from the 1850's are timeless, and my mind wanders, trying to imagine what day-to-day life would've been like 170 years ago. we spent the first day wandering the main street and tried the vegan pie from the 'Burra Bakery' - would recommend. I wanted to try a cornish pasty as I've been told they have really thick pastry so when the miners ate them with grotty hands, they just ate the insides and threw away the dirty pastry.
In 1845, Copper was found in Burra and the Burra copper mine was later established in 1848. at one point, it was mining 5% of the world's copper. the regional art gallery had a 'Goyder Gardens' exhibition on which was pretty inspiring. the thing that resonated with me was in a small low-lit room at the back with paintings and drawings from the 1860's by iconic Australian artists. They all painted during crucial times in Australia's history and the progression of this country being colonised. Len Bence specifically created some articulate illustrations of Burra in the 1970's. He is illustrated as a local legend and had only left Burra a handful of times, one being to London, for World War II. 8 boys left Burra to fight in the war and only 2 returned. He has put his survival down to fate as being a RAAF pilot was one of the most dangerous roles in the allied forces with a high level of casualties. He flew 30 missions, the maximum number allowed and still volunteered to do more. Whilst in London, he met a lady, Muriel, at an embassy conference he'd gone to as he missed his train to Wales. He proposed to her the next day and they were married within weeks. They were together until Bence passed. To me, that's surreal yet admirable and passionate. The unknown future during WWII made people act irrationally.
On Thursday we bought the passport to go around checking out the historic locations in the heritage-listed town. We visited the miner's dug outs which were inhabited by miners and their families during the 1848 copper rush, flooded often, and were surprisingly cold.
As well as the underground Unicorn Brewery Cellars, Redruth Gaol, and The Hampton Township ruins.
We then parked ourselves by the river and Emi made yummy honey soy spuds on the public bbq whilst I wrote. I decided to try to learn to skateboard whilst the sunset over the town of Burra. We attempted to make hot coffee using paper towel as the strainer but it turned out to be a milky lukewarm drink. We have now resorted to bougie Moccona instant coffee. We sat in the park and ate a whole packet of Fruchocs for dinner whilst we waited for Prati to join us. He eventually arrived at 1.30 am - a long story. Basically, he's a bit of an idiot. We headed for the infamous Byron Bay on the 2nd of October.
Elle xx